PUMP AND BE DAMMED
In a year when wholesale electricity prices soared to record levels, coal imports surged and parts of the country were plunged into darkness in a power blackout, one government project has been touted as a solution to all our electricity woes. Could the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro storage proposal be the saviour of the country’s power network?
In January this year, New Zealand’s hydro lakes began to drain. Coal imports soon hit record levels as the Huntly Power Station fired up to see us through the dry. By April, lake levels had dipped to a historic seasonal low, and by May, wholesale power prices hit a record weekly high. Industry groups warned they were “seeing the lights go off in factories around the country” because of skyrocketing prices, and some sites began closing their doors for good. In June, Kawerau’s paper mill announced it would shut, axing 160 jobs. It cited high power prices as a significant factor.
Onslow could hold nearly twice the storage capacity of all the country’s hydro lakes combined.
By August, the lakes had refilled. But then the lights went out. On August 9, as a cold snap swept up the North Island, electricity demand hit an all-time high. For several reasons, not enough supply was brought online and Transpower cut power to more than 34,000 customers on one of the coldest nights of the year.
Despite this drama, things could yet get worse. The Government wants to jettison coal and gas-fired generation that gets us through these dry years by the end of the decade. Meanwhile, according to Transpower, electricity demand is expected to surge by up to 68% over the next 30 years as transport and industry go electric. Wind
